Berkeley MET’s admission rate of less than 2% makes it one of the most competitive programs in the country. With over 2,500 high school seniors vying for just 30 spots in the program, it is even more selective than prestigious universities such as Harvard, MIT, and Stanford. Each application undergoes a thorough review process, and only the most exceptional candidates are offered a spot in the program. Once admitted, students can expect a challenging and innovative curriculum that combines business and engineering to prepare them for success in a rapidly evolving industry.

To apply to Berkeley MET, prospective students must meet certain academic requirements. A minimum overall and technical UC G.P.A. of 3.0 is necessary in order to be considered for admission. This ensures that applicants have a strong academic foundation to succeed in the rigorous coursework of the program. In addition to GPA requirements, students are also assessed based on their extracurricular activities, letters of recommendation, and personal statements, all of which play a role in the admissions decision.

The admission process at Berkeley MET is highly competitive and rigorous. Each application is carefully reviewed by a panel of admissions officers, who look for candidates who not only meet the academic requirements but also demonstrate a passion for business and engineering. Admissions decisions are final, and only the top applicants are offered a spot in the program. For those who are admitted, Berkeley MET offers a unique and unparalleled educational experience that equips students with the skills and knowledge needed to excel in the field of business and engineering.

Berkeley MET Admission Statistics
Admission Rate:	Less than 2%
Total Applicants:	2,500+
Total Spots:	30
Minimum GPA Requirement:	A minimum overall and technical UC G.P.A. of 3.0
Relation to Quality of Education
The extreme selectivity of the Berkeley MET program speaks volumes about the quality of education it offers. With an admission rate lower than top universities like Harvard, MIT, and Stanford, Berkeley MET ensures that only the most academically excellent and driven students are accepted into the program. This level of selectivity guarantees that students receive a rigorous and competitive education.
University Admission and Quality
Criteria	Importance
Admission Rate	Indicates level of competition and selectivity
Total Applicants	Shows high demand and interest in the program
Total Spots	Highlights limited availability and exclusivity
Minimum GPA Requirement	Ensures academic standards and eligibility

When it came time to apply to college, Sridhar feared he’d have to choose between tech or pursuing his entrepreneurial bent in a business program. But his timing was right: Sridhar will study both fields as one of 40 students welcomed this week into the new Management, Entrepreneurship, & Technology (M.E.T.)program at UC Berkeley.

“M.E.T. will lay the groundwork for the next generation of entrepreneurs, CEOs, and Silicon Valley leaders,” said Marjorie DeGraca, executive director of the M.E.T. program.  “These students will study together in a tight-knit cohort, learning from each other and from close mentoring relationships from top faculty in both schools.”

The program, a collaboration between the Haas School of Business and the UC Berkeley College of Engineering, grants graduates two degrees—in business and in engineering—in four years, with the goal of providing deep leadership and technology skills.

A less than 3 percent acceptance rate

The M.E.T. program is highly competitive, drawing about 2,500 applications for just 40 slots in the inaugural class—an acceptance rate of less than 3 percent. The class is 30 percent women, with students enrolling from 12 states across all regions of the US and from four other countries.

Undergrads who are admitted to M.E.T. combine business courses with one of three engineering tracks: electrical engineering & computer sciences; industrial engineering & operations research; or mechanical engineering. They spend time in class at both schools throughout the four years.

During a Haas welcome session and tour this week, students discussed the meaning of the Berkeley-Haas defining principles (Question the Status Quo, confidence without attitude, students always, beyond yourself) with Erika Walker, assistant dean of the Haas undergraduate program.

Walker explained what the students needed to know to thrive as undergraduate business majors, while other staff members highlighted the many resources available to them—including study-abroad programs, case competitions, the Berkeley-Haas Entrepreneurship Program, and the Dean’s Seed Fund for startups.  When asked whether they planned to get involved with a startup, most students raised their hands.

“We’re all motivated”

Helen Tang, who worked throughout high school at nonprofit Givology, which connects online donors to students and grassroots projects worldwide, said she’s been impressed by the diversity and enthusiasm of the M.E.T. cohort.  “There are people from all experiences and all walks of life here. And we’re all motivated, ” she said.

That’s surely true for Abhi Samantapudi, who served as state president of Michigan’s DECA business club for high school students, worked as a business analyst at startup Hindsight, and started a nonprofit, recruiting 14 volunteers who tutor kids in Detroit’s public schools. In M.E.T., he will focus on electrical engineering & computer science.

“This week has really been extraordinary,” he said. “Almost no other school provides an opportunity to bond with such a smart group of kids and provide the personalized attention we’ve had from the staff. It feels like a really tight-knit community.”

A donor-funded program with an influential champion

The M.E.T. program is funded entirely by donors, with more than $15 million raised for the program through contributions from a variety of individuals, including alumni of the two programs and members of the tech community. Michael Grimes, electrical engineering/computer sciences (EECS) 87, who is head of Global Technology Investment Banking at Morgan Stanley and the founder of the M.E.T. Program, welcomed the students during several orientation sessions.

M.E.T. is designed to fast-track technology careers, Grimes said. The program is already gaining attention among Grimes’ Silicon Valley brethren: Kleiner Perkins announced it will give an interview to every incoming M.E.T. student for its prestigious fellowship.

“Typically students seeking an advanced career in technology management first focus on earning an engineering undergraduate degree, get hired, then return to school for an MBA,” Grimes said. “M.E.T. speeds up the process by turning nine years into four.”

Ryan Scholes, who joins the program from Virginia and is enrolled in the industrial engineering track, said he was planning to go to graduate school, but says now there’s an option to do just four years.

And while UC Berkeley students in the past have managed to complete dual degrees in both business and engineering as undergraduates, they’ve done it independently, taking on an intense course load with little coordination between the business and engineering programs. “With M.E.T., we’ve brought together a community of like-minded peers, and will provide them with hands-on opportunities that connect everything they’re learning in a unified experience,” DeGraca said.

Sridhar said he’s found the experience incredible so far. “I feel like this program was created just for me,” he said.

Undergrads embrace Defining Principles

As the cohort of M.E.T. students acclimated to campus, a total of 356 new Berkeley-Haas undergraduates continued their orientation this week, gathering at Andersen Auditorium this week for a welcome from Dean Rich Lyons and to learn more about life at Haas.

The acceptance rate for the incoming undergrad class was 14% and the class includes 259 continuing and 97 transfer students. The Berkeley students have an average GPA of 3.7, while the average among transfers is 3.9. The class is 46 percent women.

“These students are clearly engaged and super motivated and excited to learn,” Walker said. “We’re so excited for what they will achieve over the next two years.”

Following the session, the entire auditorium stood, raised their right hands, and pledged: As a member of the Haas community, I pledge to be a Student Always, think Beyond Myself, Question the Status Quo, have Confidence without Attitude, and be Invested in Integrity. 

Walker then asked students to share their reflections of the day. She said, “They all spoke about how engaging in the conversation (about the defining principles) made them feel a part of the community and that it was a real community that cared,”

UC Berkeley implements new 2-degree program between College of Engineering and Haas School of Business

MIKAELA RAPHAEL/FILE

UC Berkeley’s College of Engineering and Haas School of Business are offering a new two-degree program — the Management, Entrepreneurship and Technology, or MET, program — that will begin in fall 2017.

The MET program is offering a full bachelor of science degree in business from the Haas School of Business, as well as the option of a bachelor of science degree in either electrical engineering and computer sciences or industrial engineering and operations research from the College of Engineering.

According to Marjorie DeGraca, the program’s executive director and the assistant dean of the Haas School of Business, MET has an acceptance rate just under 3 percent, making it more selective than most Ivy League universities’ undergraduate programs. It is only available to students beginning their freshman year on campus this coming fall.

“(MET) is (a) very strenuous, very rigorous program and because of that we really had to enroll students that academically were at the top of the class,” DeGraca said. “These are students that may still choose to be a CTO or a CFO, but we believe they’re going to get … a more well-rounded education.”

Michael Grimes, head of Global Technology Investment Banking at Morgan Stanley and a UC Berkeley alumnus, is the founder of the campus’s MET program. Grimes worked to create a founding board for the program and then pitched the idea to Shankar Sastry, dean of the College of Engineering, and Richard Lyons, dean of the Haas School of Business.

Grimes credits the concept of the program to Dr. Bill Hamilton, the Ralph Landau Professorship of Management and Technology at the University of Pennsylvania. Hamilton started the Management and Technology Program in 1977 and launched the Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology at the University of Pennsylvania in 1978.

“(MET is) for people that are not neatly put into a box,” Grimes said. “(It’s) for people that uniquely see themselves in both the tech world and in leadership management.”

The program has received approximately 2,500 applications for the upcoming fall semester, but only between 30 and 40 students will be admitted to the inaugural class and about 50 will be admitted each succeeding year.

According to DeGraca, funding for the MET program is entirely external. Upwards of $10 million has already been raised in an endowment for the program, with contributions from a variety of individuals, including alumni of the two colleges involved and members of the tech community.

Meredith Mao, a senior at Mission San Jose High School, will be amongst the first students to enroll in the new program. Mao said she decided to attend UC Berkeley instead of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology because of the unique opportunities provided by the MET program.

“This program has so many options waiting for you,” Mao said. “This program was just so great in that it was really made for me.”

Contact Shayann Hendricks at shendricks@dailycal.org and follow her on Twitter at @shayannih.Berkeley College of Engineering, Bill Hamilton, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Entrepreneurship and Technology Program, Haas Business School, Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, Ivy League, Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology, management, Marjorie DeGraca, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Meredith Mao, Michael Grimes, Mission San Jose High School, Ralph Landau Professorship of Management and Technology, Richard Lyons, S. Shankar Sastry, University of Pennsylvania.

Berkeley Met Acceptance Rate

The M.E.T. program is highly competitive, drawing about 2,500 applications for just 40 slots in the inaugural class—an acceptance rate of less than 3 percent. The class is 30 percent women, with students enrolling from 12 states across all regions of the US and from four other countries.

berkeley m e t program

Management, Entrepreneurship, & Technology Program

Are you inquisitive and self-motivated, with a passion for finding and solving big problems? In the new Management, Entrepreneurship, & Technology Program, you can study engineering and business in an integrated, ambitious curriculum. Not only will you graduate in four years with two Bachelor of Science degrees, but you will also develop a skillset that is in high demand across multiple sectors, industries and geographies. With internships, career coaching and other enrichment activities, you’ll have plenty of opportunities for hands-on practice with technology innovation and entrepreneurship.

The M.E.T. Program builds on Berkeley’s strong foundation of education in both engineering and business that trains students not to just be sought-after professionals, but to be leaders in their field, and to ultimately, to be change makers.

For more information about specific M.E.T. degree tracks, opportunities and the application process, visit met.berkeley.edu.

berkeley m e t vs stanford

Deciding a winner in the UC Berkeley vs. Stanford showdown is a challenge. Both schools have decorated histories, produce exceptional graduates, and earning a degree from either school is sure to open a pathway to a fantastic career. Often, the right college is a matter of fit—that is, how the college meets a student’s interests, expectations, and desired outcomes.  

UC Berkeley is especially strong for students who:

• Reside in-state and can’t help but notice UC Berkeley is roughly half the cost of Stanford—U.S. News ranks UC Berkeley as the country’s #2 public university. 
• Want to attend school in a small city while having access to a larger city and its perks. 
• Want a school that provides an outstanding multidisciplinary education—the school has graduated tech stars like the founders of Intel and Apple, the actor Gregory Peck, author Jack London, and activist Abbie Hoffman.
• Are unsure of their career path—the school’s vicinity to San Francisco and Silicon Valley puts graduates in prime positions for jobs in everything from international business to tech to consumer goods. 

Stanford is especially strong for students who:

• Want a career in tech—Hewlett Packard, Google, LinkedIn, Instagram, Snapchat, PayPal, YouTube, Yahoo, all boast Stanford alumni as founders or co-founders.  
• Are entrepreneurial—the school’s star-studded alumni network and student-started incubator create an incredible environment to launch a company. 
• Are pursuing a STEM education—over half of Stanford’s undergraduates major in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics. 
• Want to attend a school with exceptional academics and athletics. 
• Have a wide range of interests—Stanford’s quarter system lets you explore more subjects and take 50% more classes than students attending semester-system schools.

UC Berkeley	Stanford
Location	Berkeley, CA	Stanford, CA
Campus Type	Urban	Suburban
Undergraduate Enrollment	31,780	6,996
Acceptance Rate	17%	4%
U.S. News Ranking	22	6
Middle 50% SAT	1330-1530	1440-1570
Middle 50% ACT	29-35	32-35
Sticker Price	In-state: $42,460Out-of-state: $72,214	$78,218
Need-blind, no-loan, or meets 100% demonstrated need?	N/A	Need-blind No-loanMeets 100% need

berkeley acceptance rate

UC Berkeley admissions is very selective with an acceptance rate of 16%. Students that get into UC Berkeley have an average SAT score between 1330-1530 or an average ACT score of 31-35. The regular admissions application deadline for UC Berkeley is November 30.

berkeley m e t application

Applications for freshman admission to the M.E.T. program are available beginning in October of the year prior to the year in which you would enter UC Berkeley. The application filing period is November 1-30. Applicants must first submit a completed UC application by 11:59pm PST November 30 and submit a M.E.T. supplemental essay by 11:59pm PST December 15, 2021. To learn more, visit admissions.berkeley.edu. Freshmen applicants to M.E.T. may apply for two simultaneously earned B.S. degrees in one of the following tracks:

• Engineering Undeclared + Business
• BioE + Business (Bioengineering and Business Administration)
• CE + Business (Civil Engineering and Business Administration)
• EECS + Business (Electrical Engineering & Computer Sciences and Business Administration)
• IEOR + Business (Industrial Engineering & Operations Research and Business Administration)
• MSE + Business (Materials Science & Engineering and Business Administration)
• ME + Business (Mechanical Engineering and Business Administration)